An Improved Analytical Model for Prediction of Residual Deformation in Longitudinal Scheme of Laser Tube Forming Process

Laser tube bending is a new procedure for bending tubes in industrial applications. Laser scanning can be performed using circumferential and longitudinal schemes. In this paper, an analytical model was developed to predict the effects of the longitudinal scanning scheme on the laser forming of tubes. Moreover, the effects of laser parameters and tube dimensions on residual deformation are investigated for the longitudinal scanning scheme. The presented analytical model can be utilized as a powerful tool to determine the residual bending angle, residual strain, and curvatures. To apply the proposed analytical model, a hollow tube made of mild steel is considered. The residual strain and curvature were evaluated after one pass of laser scanning for the longitudinal scheme. The results revealed that increasing the laser beam diameter leads to a reduction in the residual deformation of the tube. Furthermore, the residual tube deformation was enhanced by increasing the laser power or decreasing the laser scanning velocity.